


Beneath the Shadow of a Manhole Cover

by Mars0fthe5tars



Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018)
Genre: OC insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:34:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27597602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mars0fthe5tars/pseuds/Mars0fthe5tars
Summary: When a young college student is accidentally mutated, they are launched into the wild and unpredictable world of New York's mutant underground.
Kudos: 6





	Beneath the Shadow of a Manhole Cover

It was mid June and the early morning sunlight was filtering in through cheap plastic blinds. I was swaddled in the warmth of a knitted woolen blanket, and for a moment I almost forgot where I was. But the soft snoring of sleeping puppies and the chainsaw snoring of a human sized capybara shook me back to my reality. Blinking the bleariness from my eyes I looked down and noticed Melvin curled up around the hand I had carelessly let slip from my narrow bed. I retracted my hand - my now pale gray, black spotted, three fingered hand - from the warm fur of the puppy. A thick, unhappy feeling bloomed in my chest and I drew my knees up to my chin, causing me to encounter the narrow bed situation again. The bed was really not that narrow, albeit more than I was used to, but now I was thicker than I used to be. My spine curved outward, encased in a hard, knobby shell. I had been a back sleeper until a week and a half ago, I was _human_ a week and a half ago; now I had to fight my insomnia, the occasional fatigue caused by sleeping on my side, _and_ the crushing, overwhelming depression of knowing I am _not_ human _anymore_. 

I sighed and sat up, shucking my blanket and any hope I had of falling back to sleep. Across the quaint little RV, the sleeping form of my new friend Todd rose and fell gently, his snoring ricocheting off the thin walls. Todd also used to be human, but seemed to be coping a lot better than I was. Capybaras are famous for being universal vibe donors, and Todd was no exception; I had never met a kinder, more chill individual.

I carefully made my way through a sea of sleeping puppies; some roused but had become used to Todd’s schedule and would more than likely wait for him to get up before demanding food and attention. Stepping out of the RV, I took a deep breath of fresh, not puppy-scented, air. I made sure my turquoise beanie was pulled down over most of my head and began to walk the perimeter of the clearing. Here in the middle of the woods it was easy to hide from the world, but I still worried that someone might come by and discover us.These morning patrols also served another purpose. One of the many things that my mutation had given me was super powers, and patrolling by myself was a perfect time for me to practice and flex my abilities. I had found that, with a little bit of focus, I could stretch my senses out into the surrounding shadows. My own two eyes could see far enough, but with my powers I could check an area of about one thousand feet outside of my own visual range. The sensation was mind-blowing, to say the least. 

It took about another hour for Todd to get up. I could tell he was awake when a sudden flood of puppies came rushing from the back door and into the fenced in puppy yard, which was about half way done with cleaning at that point. Todd had agreed to let me stay here but asked that I help out with the daily chores. Given that I had nowhere else to go and he had been kind to me despite my appearance, I felt that was fair. It wasn’t long before Todd came outside and sat at the small picnic table with two cups of steaming coffee. I took a pause in my work and sat with him while he sipped. Todd might have been a ray of sunshine, but even the sun needed time to get up. Once he had taken a minute to wake, Todd looked up at me with smiling eyes, sliding me the other mug of joe. 

“Good Morning, Shade! How'd ya sleep?” I smiled and took a sip, reveling in the warmth and steam.

“Fairly well. I think I only woke up twice last night, so that’s cool. Think you’ll have time today to go berry picking? I saw a healthy crop of bushes about a mile south of here.” He eyed me over his mug, pondering.

“Maybe...Sir Chomps-a-lot needs to be flossed today or tomorrow, I think he has something stuck in his teeth. Ooh, but I do have a great recipe for blackberry jam! I tell you what, you help me floss, and I’ll go berry picking with you. Sound good?” I beamed. I had never had a chance to go wild berry picking back home, so this would be fun.

“Sounds great, and maybe once it starts to get dark I can go out and do some more training. Further from camp this time, though, don’t want a repeat of last time…” The last time I attempted to access my powers in a more serious capacity, I got caught up in my emotions and created what Todd described as “a shockwave of darkness”. It sounds edgy, I know, but it’s about as accurate as I can get. The shockwave left a sizable dent in a nearby tree; now everytime I pass that tree I consider what I could have done to my friend if he had been in the way. 

The day passed quickly but not without some toil. Wrangling the puppy known as Sir Chomps-a-lot was quite the chore, but Great Pyranese puppies were a handful no matter what situation. Todd had been right, the poor boy had a thin sliver of tennis ball stuck between his left canine and one of his incisors. When we finished I showered the dog in affection while Todd made a note in his files that Sir Chomps-a-lot was not allowed to have rubber chew toys. We made a modest lunch of bologna sandwiches and lemonade, then set out hunting for berries. It didn't take us long to locate the patch of bushes and we settled into a comfortable silence as we skimmed each one for ripe, healthy berries. At one point I pulled back a branch and I saw a garter snake curled defensively about six inches from my hand. I slowly withdrew, careful not to be threatening. Garter snakes are not dangerous to people because their venom can't be distributed through a single bite, so I wasn't very worried for my safety. The snake saw it's opportunity and fled, and I went back to berry picking.

We returned to camp about two hours before sunset. Todd took all of the berries inside to store them in the fridge. We'd probably be making jam tomorrow; from what I knew of canning it was kind of an all day affair. I took a few minutes to check on the puppies and refill the water trough. Todd brought me a water bottle and a pack of peanut butter sandwich crackers. I thanked him and headed out into the woods. It was time for training. I tromped through the underbrush, deep in the quiet of the forest, hoping to find a nice clearing. I was out in the woods for about an hour and a half, meditating, focusing, trying to figure out what it was I was doing out here. I had no idea what I could do with this power, only that if I let my emotions sway me I could hurt people. I also knew that when my powers were in use my spots glowed, but that was inconsequential at best, and if I got too close to a shadow or dark spot I felt this weird tugging. I wanted to follow that last bit, to try something new; I stood, preparing myself. I was just on the edge of discovering something, of making some great stride in my training...

And then I heard a scream.

My whole body tensed and I braced myself for a second, not sure at first if the scream was close or far away. The screaming was coming from the direction of Todd’s camp, although it didn’t sound like Todd. My body acted on instinct; I moved towards camp at a speed I didn’t know I could achieve, although through the fervor of my terror I noticed I was stepping in and out of shadow. The evening wrapped itself around me like a welcoming friend and propelled me forward. The hike to my clearing had taken me well over an hour; I closed the distance in sixty seconds flat. By the time I arrived at the campsite, Todd was standing at the back door, backlit and looming over two terrified figures cowering on the ground in the puppy yard. I launched myself onto the top of the RV, crouching menacingly on the ledge over Todd, ready to provide backup should things turn ugly. But then Todd turned on the outside light and illuminated the situation. The screams had originated from two teenager sized turtle boys who were now being overrun by puppies. 

“Hi there, I’m Todd. Welcome to Cuddle Cakes Puppy Rescue, the puppiest place on Earth!” I relaxed, realizing these kids were more than likely not a threat to our well being or secrecy. One of the boys, clad primarily in purple, rolled his eyes. 

“Puppies...right...and which one are you having for _dinner_?” The question was asked so incredulously I realized the kid was serious. He thought Todd was out here eating puppies.

“Oh, that’s right, I almost forgot! It’s dinner time!” Todd pulled the rope by the back door, releasing a stream of puppy kibble into the main feeding trough. He gently put the squirming puppy in his hands down and let her run off to eat with the rest of the hoard. I moved back to the middle of the roof of the RV. So far neither of the other turtles had seen me and although I was inwardly ecstatic about finding other turtle mutants, I was hesitant to let them know I was here. Todd brought them through to the other side of the RV where the picnic table was and gave them each a blanket. I observed silently from topside while Todd poured some lemonade.

“You guys want some of my internet famous homemade lemonade? I donate it to folks in Alaska who need a little sunshine.” He slid each boy a glass and sat at the table. They each took a sip and gushed about how good it was; truly Todd’s lemonade was the best I had ever had, and I’m from the south, where homemade lemonade is second only to iced tea. I could tell Todd knew I was here; there was an extra glass sitting on the table in front of him, inviting me to come down and join the fun. It was hard to resist, especially after having been in the woods most of the day, but my curiosity and anxiety won and I stayed put. Careful observation of each of the turtle boys showed me they were each a different species of turtle, but interacted with each other as brothers. I had tuned out of their conversation with Todd in my focus on the fine details. The one clad in purple appeared to be a soft shell turtle, but he wore an interesting false shell on his back, presumably to protect himself. The other, wearing an orange bandana, was an ornamental box turtle, and seemed to have a much more positive demeanor than his brother. Todd had handed Willis to the box turtle, who cooed over the small dog, seemingly to his brother’s frustration. Miho was rolling herself across the table at the soft shell, trying to get his attention for belly rubs; he was gently rolling her away, denying her request. I tuned back into the conversation as the soft shell began to speak again.

“Look, Todd, you haven’t made a payment in two years, and that means-”

“Yeah…” Todd mused. “Turns out all you get for rescuing puppies is million dollar smiles…” The soft shell leaned forward, giving Todd a resolute look.

“My hard as nails brother and I are here to-” Once again his sentence trailed off as he looked at where his brother had just been sitting, only to find him missing. The box turtle had moved to the other side of the table and somehow donned the bottle feeding vest Todd had fashioned for particularly young puppies that happened to come to the rescue sometimes. He stood, gritting his teeth.

“Mikey, come on!” I had a feeling he had more to say, but his thought was interrupted by Melvin, who had managed to spike his ball on the ground hard enough to punt it off the side of the boy’s face. He wheeled on Melvin, initially angry then simply frustrated at the puppy wagging innocently with a blue rubber ball in his mouth. 

“Ooh, looks like Melvin wants to play! Would you mind throwing his ball?” Todd might be a nice guy but these boys had intruded on his evening and I could tell he was milking it for all it was worth. The boy sighed, picking up Melvin and removing the ball from his mouth.

“Fine, I will throw the ball if you will give us the keys to your-” He pitched the ball but his forward foot landed in a fresh pile of droppings. My midday clean up had been skipped today while we were on our little field trip, and now that the puppies had finished eating, it was time for evening clean up. The boy panicked.

“I’m in something squishy, _I am in something squishy_.” Todd sighed apologetically.

“Yeah, I’ve been so swamped, I haven’t had time to clean the yard up. But you guys are so _good_ at this. Wanna grab a couple of shovels?” He thrust two shovels in their direction and to my surprise they actually took them and began to clean up the yard. Guess I got the night off. While they were working, I leaned my head over the edge and reached a hand down for Todd. He took my hand, gave it a quick squeeze to signify that he was here if I needed him, and then handed me a glass of lemonade. I sat up, watching the boys work, sipping lemonade. Their presence here was going to change things for me, I could feel it now. 

When they completed the job, and the guy we paid to haul it all away had left, the two turtles stood staring out into the woods, trying to figure out why they had done the job in the first place. I swung my legs over the edge of the RV, my heels resting on the awning, deciding now was as good a time as any to make my appearance.

“Todd sure does have a way of convincing you to help out, huh? I think niceness might be his super power.” The two turned, shocked to find a fourth person here at the camp, and gaulked. I immediately got the feeling they had never encountered another mutant turtle either and that we found ourselves sharing the same unique experience. The box turtle dropped his shovel in surprise.

“You’re...you’re a turtle! You’re like us!” He grabbed his brother’s arm. “Donnie, are you seeing this?”

“Yes Michael, I see them. Who are you, where did you come from?” I smirked, a tad empowered by their amazement.

“That is a long story my friends.” Just then Todd came back out of the RV, carrying two more glasses of lemonade.

“You guys must be exhausted. Why don’t you guys sleep over? In the morning we can milk the puppies!”

“That sounds gre--No! No.” Donnie threw down his shovel angrily, stepping towards Todd as he finally got off his chest what he’d been trying to get to the whole time. “We did not come here to help you, we came here to repo your RV!” Todd backed up away from the boy, the steps catching him behind the knee, forcing him to sit down. He hung his head in defeat, sniffling. I jumped down from my perch, kneeling beside him to be his comfort.

“Yeah, okay.” Todd looked back up at the kids, snot running from his nose. “I guess me and the pups will just…sleep under the stars tonight. And every night. Through puppy hurricane season…” A sudden storm rolled in, beginning to soak us all. My mind took a step back from it all to remark that the rain wasn’t as bothersome to me now as it had once been, but I pushed that thought aside in favor of keeping myself in the moment. Willis brought Mikey an umbrella, yanking pitifully on the tie keeping it closed. This broke the box turtle’s heart.

“I can’t do it!” He sank to the ground, opening the umbrella and clutching Willis to his chest. Donnie gave in, sighing.

“Okay...Todd…” He cleared his throat, like he was trying to force the words out. “How about, you trade us that dusty RV, and we _make_ you a new place to sleep. Huh?” I looked at Todd and saw the smile spread across his face. Although I had no doubt his emotions had been genuine, I got the distinct feeling he had just played these boys. He looked up and gasped.

“Really? And-and a place to feed the puppies? And bathe and diaper and play with them?” 

“Yes…”

“And I don’t suppose-”

“Yes obviously there will be robot assistants!” Donnie snapped; I hadn’t thought that would be obvious, but whatever Todd wanted. It _would_ be easier if he and I had extra hands to help. Todd rejoiced, setting the glasses of lemonade inside the doorstep and throwing his arms around me. Despite the strange way this had come about, this was exactly the blessing Todd had been needing. 

We invited the two in from the rain and I grabbed them some towels while Todd started on dinner. I sat with them, wringing my beanie out over the sink and laying it over the edge. 

“So, you two don’t exactly look like repo men. What brought a couple of kids out here to the backwoods to repo an RV?” They side-eyed each other. Mikey was the first to speak.

“That’s...kind of a long story. But, wait, kids? You don’t look old enough to be calling us kids.”

“I’m nineteen years old. I am...I _was_ in college. You two can’t be very old, you’re like, what, thirteen?” Mikey looked surprised, but Donnie looked down right offended.

“Mikey is fourteen, and I am fifteen, thank you very much. You can’t rightly call us kids if you’re only four years older than me.” I chuckled at Donnie’s indignation. I hadn’t been that far off but I supposed he was right.

“Okay, fair. I’m Shade, by the way. I figured out your names by eavesdropping on your conversation with Todd, but I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself earlier.”

“That’s a cool name. How did you pick it?” Mikey asked, crossing his legs on the seat and leaning forward.

“Uh, well, I didn’t. Todd actually picked it for me. I used to have a different name, but then I ended up in this whole situation and I didn’t really like my old name to begin with so I thought it was time for a new one.” Donnie frowned.

“Wait, what do you mean ‘this whole situation’? Were you not always a turtle?”

“No, were you? I used to be human. The short version of the story is that I was bitten by a weird green mosquito while playing with my pet turtle and now I look like this.” The boys exchanged a look; Mikey looked a little pale. I racked my brain for a possible change in conversation topic when Todd brought over steaming plates of grilled cheese and fresh green beans. Todd ruled the conversation after that, pummeling the boys with questions, and discussing needs and wants for the new set up with Donnie. From what I gathered Donnie was something of a tech wiz, with enough experience in drafting and construction that this project was going to be an easy job to tackle. Mikey was mostly quiet through the meal, his sunshiney energy seemingly sapped away, but by what I couldn’t tell. After dinner, I cleared the table and cleaned dishes and Todd began to set up sleeping arrangements for our guests. I stared out the window, watching the rain begin to ebb and the clouds part, allowing the slim form of the moon to peek out. Once the dishes were clean I stepped outside, taking in the cool night air, and performed my evening patrol. Although I knew it was dark, I could see just as well as I could at high noon. That was new; it seemed I had made a major breakthrough with my powers today. I gave myself some practice with the “shadow stepping” by popping across the perimeter of the clearing. Now, without the pressure of panic in my system, the process required a tad more concentration, but was not difficult at all. When I finished my rounds, I returned to the warmth of the RV, carefully stepping over the gauntlet of puppies and the two turtles. Mikey had rolled over onto his side and was pretending to be asleep; I wondered if I had hurt his feelings earlier with the being a turtle comment. Maybe he hadn’t been a turtle that long, and reminding him had brought up some uncomfortable emotions. I could understand that, it was something I was still struggling with myself. Donnie was sitting up, scrolling through his phone with one hand and sketching what appeared to be construction plans on a notepad in his lap with the other. I sat on my bed, feeling awkward that they were on the floor. I laid down, feeling like I should say something to Donnie, but I wasn’t sure where to begin. So I just faced the wall, covered myself in a blanket and tried to fall asleep. 

The next morning began as the last had, only this time, Melvin was curled up next to Donnie. He had shucked his extra shell, it was leaning against the wall next to him. I sat up as quietly as possible and eyed the contraption off-handedly. Whether he had made this himself or otherwise, it was an ingenious invention, functional and beautiful in equal measure. No doubt it had cost a pretty penny to get the materials to make it. This time when I walked through the RV to go do morning patrol, the puppies roused quietly and flooded the yard. They followed me around the edge of the fence as I did my morning perimeter check. Surprisingly it didn’t take long for Todd and the boys to be up as well. They wanted to get an early start on construction, which was fair, considering the scope of work Donnie had planned. Todd wrestled the puppies into the RV, and I worked on moving fencing pieces around so the puppies had a place to be that wasn’t a construction zone.

On the third day of construction, Mikey and Donnie told me about their two other brothers at home - also turtles - and their father, who was inexplicably a rat. I gathered they _had_ been turtles their entire lives, but I was the first mutant turtle they had met outside of family. I was happy for them, that they had a rich and comfortable life, but it also made me miss home. I expected they would try to pry, to ask me about my life and how I ended up as a turtle person living in the wilderness of New York state with a capybara and a hoard of puppies, but they didn’t. They asked me about my pet turtle, Harvey, and about what I had been studying in school. Donnie seemed particularly interested in my college experience and my studies. I told him what had happened to me was a great big slice of irony pie, as my major in school had been Herpetology: the study of reptiles and amphibians. He also found this ironic, but interesting. Mikey realized that meant I knew exactly what kinds of turtles they were and prodded me for information. I gladly info dumped what I knew about each of their species, finding joy in their wide-eyed amazement. Donnie took notes, Mikey just listened intently, but I could tell he was retaining almost every word.

The next night, Mikey and Donnie approached me after dinner. I was sitting at the picnic table, staring out at the starry night. They sat down, and Mikey cleared his throat for my attention.

“Um, Shade, Donnie and I were wondering, well, I was wondering and Donnie said I should ask but um. Would you maybe like to come stay with us for a while? With me and Donnie and our brothers and our dad? Not that Todd isn’t nice, but if you’d like you could come hang out with some other turtles for a while? I know everyone would be really excited to have you, and maybe you wouldn’t feel as sad about this whole situation if you got to be around other turtles?” At first all I could do was blink; this was entirely out of the blue. Was I that obvious? I could have sworn I had my emotions under wraps. 

“I um…I appreciate the offer, guys. I need time to think about it.” Mikey looked a tad downtrodden but smiled and nodded.

“Of course! Take as long as you need.” This must have meant a lot to him; from what I could tell Mikey was not one to mince words. When we were done with dinner, Mikey went inside to help Todd with dishes and I began my nightly patrol, surprised to find Donnie walking with me. He didn’t say anything for a while, and I was fine with the comfortable silence broken only by the gentle swish of feet on dewey grass. 

“You cry in your sleep.” His statement shattered my calm. I looked back at him, still walking but jarred by his words. “That’s why Mikey thinks you’re sad about your situation.” That would explain why my pillow is always wet when I wake up, I just thought I drooled. I looked forward again, trying to steel myself.

“I’m not going to lie to you and say that I’m happy and well adjusted. Two weeks ago I didn’t even know something like this was possible; it was all the stuff of fiction. But now…” I stared at my hands, which had started to shake. I gripped them closed, taking a breath and trying to fend off the growing despair. “Now this is my life. And I’m trying to adapt, but it’s difficult. Todd has been helping, and I meditate every day to help clear my mind. Right now that’s the best I can do, I think.” He was quiet for a moment. 

"What do you look for out here? I've seen you walk the perimeter every morning and evening but nothing ever happens."

"That's exactly why I'm out here. To ensure nothing ever does."

The work lasted a total of seven days, and when it was complete, Cuddle Cakes Puppy Rescue was an entirely different place. Todd had a luxurious cabin with extra space for guests, plenty of open space for the puppies to run around, dedicated areas for feeding, playing, bathroom breaks and more. It really was the puppiest place on Earth. All of us stood back and admired our work until a mildly uncomfortable silence settled over us as we considered that this meant the boys would be leaving, and finally taking the RV back to their employer. I still hadn’t given Mikey an answer, but I had decided to stay. I was dreading telling him, but neither of them asked. They just loaded up into the RV and drove it away. Todd and I stood at the gates, waving them off. 

“You should go with them.” I looked at Todd, shocked and speechless. “Look, Shade, I love having you here, and you’ve been very helpful. But the puppies and I, we’re going to be okay. You should go with them, maybe they can help you find the answers you’re looking for.” I looked out towards the shrinking dust cloud. He was right, if nothing else they could help me be more comfortable with the life I had now. I turned and hugged Todd, handing him the keys to my car. 

“Thank you, for everything Todd. If you ever need me, for anything, I’ll be here.” I shadow stepped to my car and grabbed my meager bag of things, then focused, hard, on the moving shadow within the RV. With a rush of energy I took a step and tumbled into the back of the vehicle. Mikey yelped, Donnie swerved and I tried not to hit my head on a wayward cabinet door. 

“Shade! You decided to come with us! Wait, how did you do that?” Mikey rejoiced, peeling out of the passenger seat to come hug me. I chuckled and rubbed his head. 

“Yeah, I uh, I have super powers apparently. Just another thing to get used to.” I confessed. He marvelled and began pestering me with questions, and though Donnie hadn’t said anything, I could see him smiling in the rear view mirror. 

We didn’t make any stops on the way back to the city. I had offered to drive at one point, since I was licensed and Donnie was not, but he respectfully declined, saying he didn’t want to try to find a safe place to stop where people weren’t going to stare. This was fair, and something I hadn’t considered was what a cop would do if they pulled me over. My face no longer matched my license anyway, so it’s not like it would do me a lot of good. We brought the RV to a junkyard labeled Repo Mantis Salvage. I thought that was an odd name for a scrap yard but then I saw the proprietor. Mikey leaned his torso out of the window, flagging down a large purple praying mantis man.

“Eyy, Repo! One RV, as promised. Wax up dat moon buggy babey!” The man surveyed the vehicle, and eyed me as I exited.

“Not bad, not bad. And you picked up a friend. But see, what had happened was, I ain’t giving it to you. Turns out, dorky Jupiter Jim fans will pay big bucks just to sit in that thing.”

“What?! We had a deal, buddy-o.” Donnie stepped out of the driver’s side.

“Scrapping is a tricky business, kids, and you, got tricked!” Donnie got in Repo’s face, trying to intimidate him.

“We are not leav-ing without our moon buggy!” Repo pushed him, knocking him to the ground.

“Eyy, the purple one’s funny!” Donnie threw a smug look over his shoulder at Mikey.

“I keep telling you guys I’m funny.” Repo sank his spiny forearms into two solid chunks of metal and snarled.

“I’m gonna break your legs half way through but twice.” He reared up and tried to crush Donnie with his new weaponized arms, but the turtle rolled out of the way just in time, leaping to his feet and calling out to his brother.

“Mikey, the magnet!” Mikey launched his weapon, one I had seen him carrying but could not put a name to, and wrapped the end around a lever in the magnet machine. Repo grunted in surprise as he was pulled upward and away from the ground. The boys charged towards a large teal vehicle I could only assume was the moon buggy in question and I followed.

“A deal’s a deal, chico!” Mikey called, before launching himself into the passenger seat of the buggy. The vehicle was only equipped with two seats, so I perched myself on the flat of the back, outside the hatch. “Shade, get in!” Mikey panicked. I shook my head.

“Just go, before he gets loose!” Donnie closed the hatch and began flipping switches, cackling with glee. I gripped the slick outer surface as best I could as Donnie kicked the buggy into gear with a triumphant “Tallyho!” I watched Repo drop to the ground and charge us, only to launch himself into his tow truck and begin to pursue. We managed to get a head start on him, but not by much; the moon buggy was jaw-grindingly slow. Not exactly a great vehicle for a chase through the streets of New York City. I braced myself as Repo caught up and rammed us. I was close enough to hear him when he screamed in anger.

“Give me back my DORK MOBILE!!” From inside the buggy I could barely hear Mikey calling out different things as he pressed buttons to no avail. Repo pulled around to our side and began to ram us. All of a sudden, I heard a loud whirring from inside and the moon buggy sped up to a more acceptable car chase speed. I gripped the top of the back fender, trying to keep my eyes on Repo in case he decided to try and board us. As we turned a corner, Mikey hit a button that released a stream of grease on the road, and a crowd of innocent bystanders, and caused the enraged bug man to temporarily lose control of his vehicle. As Repo swung around us from the front, struggling to regain control of his truck, we managed to pass him again, only to take another hit from the back. This time the hatch released and went flying, almost taking me with it. 

“Hey guys, any other ideas?” I clambered into the back behind the seats. 

“Maybe the bug zapper button-”

“Really?” Donnie snapped at his little brother. “There is a bug zapper - why didn’t you try that first?” Mikey shrugged.

“It didn’t have a three thousand after it.” One of Donnie’s robotic limbs extended from the shell with a marker, delicately scrawling 3000 below the button marked ‘Bug Zapper’.

“There, happy?” Mikey smiled and pressed the button.

“Why, thank you.” A large arm extended from the back of the buggy and fired off a bright blue charge which struck Repo’s truck dead on and created a large blue explosion. We pulled away from the scene and onto a large bridge, finally out of Repo’s grasp. The boys high fived.

“Hard as nails!” I laughed, and they looked back at me, like they had forgotten I was back there. Mikey smiled a little sheepishly.

“Sorry about all of that. Are you okay?” I nodded; I was more than okay. For the first time in two and half weeks I felt alive again.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m great. Thank you for bringing me with you guys. That was….fun, haha.”

“Yeah, it was! And just think of all the fun we’ll have once you get to meet Raph and Leo! They’re going to love you.” I sighed, contented but a tad nervous at meeting more new people.  
“I hope so…”


End file.
